Behind Utah and California, Idaho has the third largest number of residents in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS), or Mormons. It follows, then, that Idaho is also home to plenty of ex-Mormons — and it turns out that Boise is quite a hub for people who have left the faith.
The Larger Pattern
City Cast Boise podcast host Lindsay Van Allen and local comedian Brittany Hargis are both ex-Mormon, part of a current pattern of “religious churning.” That’s a historical period when people are frequently leaving their organized religions, both religions of origin and found religions later in life.
In the United States, “unaffiliated” is the only major religious group that has seen any significant growth in the last decade, and is now the largest proportion of Americans out of any group.
Hargis and Van Allen both testified to the LDS church’s “November policy,” a controversial 2015 policy following the national legalization of gay marriage that required children of gay parents to denounce their parents upon baptism. That policy was overturned four years later due to a “continuing revelation,” a rapid aboutface according to religious historians.
In 2023, 47% of people who left their religion said they were partially prompted because of their religion’s anti-LGBTQ+ teachings. That number was up from 29% in 2016, according to one study.
So, Why Boise?
Van Allen described Boise as a “soft place to land” as an ex-Mormon who lived in eastern Idaho for years. Hargis agreed. “I needed to start over,” she said. “I needed a new place to rebuild. And at the time Boise really felt like a good place to try that, and it totally was.”
To them and many others, Boise is familiar but larger than Idaho Falls or smaller towns in eastern Idaho. It’s still close enough to drive to visit family, but far enough away to feel independent. And Hargis said it’s not too big of a culture shock — a “baby Portland” as she described our mid-sized city.
Perhaps most importantly, it’s a common stop on the highway of leaving Mormonism.
Hargis said that in doing over 100 comedy shows in Boise, she’s rarely experienced a show without at least two ex-Mormons in the audience.
“Not feeling special is kind of a really huge relief,” she said.
